Can I use gluten-free 1:1 flour or oat flour?

I have tested this cake with gluten-free 1:1 all purpose flour, such as Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour. Both work wonderfully here. I have not tested this specific recipe with oat flour. However, I have recently tested my chocolate cupcakes using all oat flour and they came out wonderfully. I will be testing this recipe as well! My inclination is to say yes but I can't guarantee the results!

Can I use ground flaxseed in place of applesauce?

Your cake won't be as moist if you do this. I recommend sticking with the applesauce, as it will yield the best texture and taste. Sometimes, flaxseed leaves a bit of aftertaste in baked goods. To ensure that your vegan funfetti cake tastes like a true out-of-the-box (only better) funfetti cake, use applesauce.

How do I avoid a gummy cake?

Please please please use room temperature ingredients. It's so important in order to avoid any baking mishaps. Also be sure to not over-mix the batter!

My sprinkles' colors are streaking through the cake batter- help!

Unfortunately, this is due to the quality of vegan sprinkles you've used. Some vegan sprinkles, the "dye" fades fast, since it's usually all natural. That's why I recommend using either Sweetapolita, Fancy Sprinkles, or Go supernatural. They have the best vegan sprinkles I've seen!

Can I use this cake recipe for a wedding cake?

Absolutely! I'm actually planning on having one of my tiers be my vegan funfetti cake as well for our wedding! :) If you're having trouble figuring out ratios, you can use Chelsweets' cake batter calculator . It helps so much! Here's what you need to know on your end: this cake can yield three 8" layers that are each 1" tall. Then plug those numbers into the equation!

The ULTIMATE Vegan Funfetti Cake

Description

You won’t believe how amazing this vegan funfetti cake is!! Super moist, tender, and “buttery” sweet, full of rainbow sprinkles, and secretly vegan, eggless, and dairy free with a gluten free option! Absolutely no one will know this funfetti cake is vegan!

Ingredients

Units Scale

Vegan Funfetti Cake:

270 grams unsweetened dairy free milk, room temperature
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (to be mixed with coconut/almond milk)
460 grams organic flour or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, sifted (do NOT skip- add in 1 tsp arrowroot powder if using gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, see Note)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
220 grams granulated sugar
170 grams salted vegan butter, room temperature
190 grams unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
1.5 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan sprinkles or homemade vegan sprinkles (see notes for recommendations)
1–2 batches of vegan buttercream frosting (depending on if you want more frosting to decorate the outside of the cake with)
More sprinkles to decorate

Instructions

Please read through all instructions before beginning.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 6″ or 8″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside. You can also use 8″ if desired. Just be aware that the cakes will bake differently (if you’re doing two 8″ cakes, it will bake longer, if you’re doing three, it will bake quicker). Measure out all ingredients.
Make the vegan buttermilk: Prepare the vegan buttermilk. Combine the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 5-6 minutes. You can weigh and measure the remaining ingredients during this time.
Make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a large bowl with hand mixer, cream together the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed. Then add in the applesauce and vanilla extract. Mix again on medium speed until combined, scraping down the sides and at the bottom of the bowl as needed. Add in about half of the dry mixture, along with half of the vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until just combined. Add in the remaining dry mixture and vegan buttermilk, and mix on medium speed until there are just no more dry streaks. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl as well as the sides. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer (if using a stand mixer) and fold in the sprinkles just until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Bake: Divide the batter between the cake pans evenly, and bake for 27-30 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Cool: Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), then you can prepare your chocolate buttercream.
Prepare the buttercream: make the vegan buttercream according to the directions in the post.
Assemble the cake: on a cake stand or a cake turntable, spoon about 1/3-1/2 cup of frosting onto the first layer. Use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting to the edges. Then place the second layer on top and repeat. Place the third layer on top and frost the outside of the cake, creating a crumb coat. You can either smooth the edges even more after chilling the crumb coat layer, or you can make swoops in the frosting. Decorate with sprinkles and serve! Enjoy!
Storage: store any leftover cake wrapped in parchment paper and tinfoil, and in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

Vegan sprinkles: I used Sweetapolita vegan birthday cake sprinkles here. Another great brand is Fancy Sprinkles; both have wonderful vegan options.

Gluten free: I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1:1 baking flour.

Nut-free: use all nut-free vegan products for an entirely nut-free cake!

Keywords: vegan funfetti cake, vegan birthday cake, homemade funfetti cake, vegan rainbow cake, homemade vegan sprinkles